Indiana University Athletics
Huber's Notebook: #IUBB Version
5/31/2018 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BORDEN, Indiana – Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller can even more fully relate to Romeo Langford now.
Because the truly prodigious autograph line Miller and football colleague Tom Allen faced Wednesday night following IU Athletics' annual shindig at Huber's Orchard and Winery would've looked familiar to Langford.
The line was astonishingly long. People in it, almost without exception, were adorned in IU apparel. And the coaches, sitting at a table, were set to stay for as long as it took to satisfy fans' requests.
Which was pretty much 2018 Indiana Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford's exact experience after each New Albany High School game the past couple of seasons.
A table would be set up outside the New Albany locker room post-game. Langford would voluntarily sit for fans until all items were signed and all photos taken. His teammates and coaches would patiently wait till he finished before finally making their exit alongside him.
McDonald's All-American Langford's decision to attend IU – announced precisely a month earlier before another partisan Hoosier throng at his high school gym – doubtless enlarged the lines seen Wednesday in and around the banquet hall of Huber's Orchard and Winery facility.
It was a record crowd of over 1,000, nearly bursting the banquet hall seams and helping likewise fill the charity coffers of the IU Alumni Association's Louisville/Southern Indiana chapter.
The event showcases IU hoops and football, but recent Hoosier successes across the spectrum of the program's 24 sports were duly noted and celebrated. And the continuing facility upgrades were all reported to be on schedule and on budget, eliciting more approval from the crowd.
But amid all the overt enthusiasm, everybody present also struck a proper and somber note that Wednesday would have marked Bill Mallory's 83rd birthday had not the legendary IU football coach not passed away last Friday.
When IU Director of Athletics Fred Glass opened the formal program and asked the packed house for a moment in memoriam for Mallory, total silence ensued.
Allen then came to the podium and earned his second standing ovation in as many years at Huber's, with a speech Don Fischer described as "kind of Malloryesque."
It was, indeed, in both content and tone.
Even before addressing the crowd, Allen had told the assembled media how much of an inspiration Mallory will remain, even amid the sorrow of his passing.
"Heavy heart, for Coach Mallory and his family," Allen said. "Special thoughts with (Mallory's wife) Ellie, who has to deal with everything that's going on – and to have his birthday today, that sometimes makes it more difficult.
"So much love and respect for him, and everything he means to our program. When you go back and study everything that he did, and what he inherited when he got here, the way he turned it around is really unbelievable. And the way he handled things at the end (of his career) was unusual, compared to the way a lot of people handle things like that."
The Mallorys stayed in Bloomington after IU truncated his 13-season tenure in 1996, still contributing to both the broader community and to Hoosier athletics – including the new head football coach in 2017.
"He was great from the very beginning," Allen said. "He was really the first one I sat down with. We went and had lunch together and he just kind of went through everything (about coaching football at Indiana). The culture of Indiana. Things he felt that were important, and things we were able to establish and do with respect to recruiting, dealing with media, the coaching staff, the conference …
"He came to practice every single week. He would text me. As a matter of fact, I just got a text from him not long ago after an article in the paper that was very positive about the direction we're going. He said, 'You guys are doing everything the right way. We believe in you. Just keep doing what you're doing.' That's just kind of how he was. He cared about this program. He loved it."
And there was a lot of Hoosier love to go around Wednesday night.
ALL-STARS. PLURAL.
Joining the 6-foot-6 Langford on the 2018 Indiana All-Star boys' squad, which plays Kentucky in the annual series next weekend, are fellow IU recruits Robert Phinisee of McCutcheon, a 6-1 point guard, and 6-6 winger Damezi Anderson of South Bend Riley.
"His 'inside-out strategy is really working," Glass said of Miller's desire to make in-state recruiting foundational for Indiana basketball, augmented by worthy prospects elsewhere. "It's sort of amazing to me that we'll have three kids on the Indiana All-Star team who are Indiana University recruits when that's just the second time we've had that many in 29 years.
"It feels like just yesterday that we were getting all the Indiana kids, but it's been longer than yesterday. Archie is really turning that around. We're very, very excited about Romeo, but also excited about the balance of that class – and the groundwork Archie is laying for future classes."
Miller's 2018 recruiting class also features 6-7 forward/winger Jerome Hunter from Pickerington, Ohio, and 6-9 power forward Jake Forrester from Harrisburg, Pa. Evan Fitzner, a 6-10 frontliner who is a graduate transfer from St. Mary's (Calif.), is arriving in Bloomington this summer, too.
The class, even excluding Fitzner from the rankings as a transfer, is rated No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com.
"People are excited from Lake Michigan down to the Ohio River," Glass said about the feedback IU has gotten about the class. "All across the state, there is a real buzz and enthusiasm.
"I was already thrilled with this class, with the people Archie was able to attract, then Romeo Langford was the cherry atop the sundae. What a great young man. Great student, great character … a transcendent basketball player … and in a lot of ways a quintessential Hoosier. Stayed at New Albany when he could have gone to prep school – and maybe had some pressure to go to prep school. Stayed here. Committed to Indiana.
"So excited about him, and the balance of the class is pretty spectacular as well. I think there is a ton of momentum (in recruiting). That's what I was hoping for. And maybe the results have come a little more quickly than even I was hoping for."
Glass and Miller both hope Langford's decision is a harbinger regarding other prized Indiana prospects in future.
"He's as decorated a player as the state has seen and as decorated a kid as I've seen," Miller said. "It's what needed to happen (for us to recruit him). And his cool, calm personality is a perfect fit to walk into the fire.
"... Coming to Indiana, hopefully he'll make that the cool thing to do here down the line."
JUWAN-TING TO COME BACK
Miller's roster got another boost this week in the form of addition by lack of subtraction.
Juwan Morgan, IU's frontline force all last season, announced his withdrawal from NBA Draft consideration Tuesday. He'll play his final season of eligibility with the Hoosiers.
Miller admired the way Morgan and his family went through the process of testing the NBA waters, gleaning guidance and feedback while retaining the opportunity to play one more season with Indiana.
"As a coaching staff you have to take a step back, open lines of communication," Miller said. "It's really important in these situations that the accurate information is shared,
"In Juwan's case, he did a great job. He and his family have been a real joy to be around and work with. Juwan had a number of workouts with teams. He got to be able to be in those settings, which is what we wanted. He got the feedback. And as he and his family talked to us and talked to themselves, the opportunity to come back to Indiana as a senior, the opportunity to impact the program, was the overwhelming theme."
Morgan's performance was pretty overwhelming much of last season – such as his 34-point, 11-board showing in IU's overtime win over Notre Dame during last December's Crossroads Classic.
That was one of eight double-doubles on the campaign for Morgan, who averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds, overall. He got better as he went along, upping those numbers to 17.9 and 7.6 in league play. He shot .579 from the field for the season and improved his 3-point shooting to .378 in Big Ten action.
"Juwan had a terrific year," Miller said. "He earned it. Full credit to him for his buy-in and work-ethic. He turned into a very confident player."
(5/30/2018) 18 Huber Winery, 05/30
NOT QUITE YET DE'RON-RUN-RUNNING
Miller said junior center De'Ron Davis' recovery from an Achilles tendon rupture in January has been steady but slow, as befits a man 6-10 and 250 pounds.
"It's a difficult surgery for anyone to come back from," Miller said, "and when a guy like De'Ron, with that size or a guy that can put on some weight when he's not able to do anything, that makes it a little more difficult.
"We've taken him really slow. He's done a really nice job here in the last three to four week. He's been in summer school by himself and he's exclusively been working on his rehab. It's going to be a slow process where he has to get himself into a situation where he feels comfortable running and then start the conditioning."
But while Davis is months away from full-go, Miller is encouraged by recent progress, as reported by veteran IU trainer Tim Garl, "In talking to Tim Garl here in this last week," Miller said, "I think De'Ron has strung together some really good days and I think he's progressing."
GRADING OUT WELL
Glass noted that this past academic year, IU athletics set an all-time program record with 256 Academic All-Big Ten selections. The average grade-point-average for the athletic department was 3.15. And last year, the athletic department had 68 Distinguished Scholars, another program record. The Graduation Success Rate for athletes at IU this past year was 90.6 percent. That's up from 70 percent when Glass arrived in 2011.
CHAMPIONSHIP CADDY
Dominic Papalia's 1976 Cadillac Eldorado, parked outside Huber's, was a rather stunning attraction Wednesday.
It is fully restored and festooned, from front to back bumper, with vintage photographs and artwork glorifying IU hoops. And its 1976 vintage is no accident, honoring the last unbeaten national champion in NCAA basketball annals.
Its floorboard is floor – a wooden replica of the Assembly Hall court that includes actual planking from the original court.
The driver's seat is covered by a plaid sport coat, or the sort worn by Bob Knight during his early IU coaching days. The other seats are adorned by IU warmups.
"If you haven't seen that '76 Eldorado tricked-out," an appreciative Glass admonished the audience, "that's a must-see."
HOOSIER HEARTLAND
When Miller made his first appearance at Huber's last year, he mentioned he couldn't address any specifics regarding recruiting other than noting he "knew where New Albany, Indiana, is."
That was a not completely covert allusion to Langford, of course.
But Miller made it clear Wednesday that, in the interim, he's enjoyed getting to know a lot of locales throughout the southern part of the state.
"I spent a lot of time down here the past year," Miller quipped, drawing a knowing chuckle from a crowd very much aware of the recruiting emphasis on Langford. "Not only recruiting, but traveling around, driving around and finding local people to help our cause. This is what it's all about, in terms of the passion for IU.
"Last year I walked into what felt like a hornet's nest in here. I really wasn't ready for it, to be honest. I am this year, though. This pocket of the state is one which I've really come to love."
That sort of passion from the fan base, generally, has Miller more convinced than ever he is coaching at a college basketball blueblood (even if its fans have a basic aversion to blue.)
"Sometimes you take a step back and you sort of want to pinch yourself and say, 'I can't believe I'm standing here right now,' " Miller said. "I said that quite a few times last year.
"The energy and the crowds that we were a part of, it gave me great confidence that when we are up and running and things are going as smooth as they possibly can, that (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall) should be one of, if not the most, difficult places to play a college basketball game (against the home team)."
IU opponents might have had a tough time making much headway with the crowd Wednesday night at Huber's, too.
This fan base is pumped up.
BORDEN, Indiana – Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller can even more fully relate to Romeo Langford now.
Because the truly prodigious autograph line Miller and football colleague Tom Allen faced Wednesday night following IU Athletics' annual shindig at Huber's Orchard and Winery would've looked familiar to Langford.
The line was astonishingly long. People in it, almost without exception, were adorned in IU apparel. And the coaches, sitting at a table, were set to stay for as long as it took to satisfy fans' requests.
Which was pretty much 2018 Indiana Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford's exact experience after each New Albany High School game the past couple of seasons.
A table would be set up outside the New Albany locker room post-game. Langford would voluntarily sit for fans until all items were signed and all photos taken. His teammates and coaches would patiently wait till he finished before finally making their exit alongside him.
McDonald's All-American Langford's decision to attend IU – announced precisely a month earlier before another partisan Hoosier throng at his high school gym – doubtless enlarged the lines seen Wednesday in and around the banquet hall of Huber's Orchard and Winery facility.
It was a record crowd of over 1,000, nearly bursting the banquet hall seams and helping likewise fill the charity coffers of the IU Alumni Association's Louisville/Southern Indiana chapter.
The event showcases IU hoops and football, but recent Hoosier successes across the spectrum of the program's 24 sports were duly noted and celebrated. And the continuing facility upgrades were all reported to be on schedule and on budget, eliciting more approval from the crowd.
But amid all the overt enthusiasm, everybody present also struck a proper and somber note that Wednesday would have marked Bill Mallory's 83rd birthday had not the legendary IU football coach not passed away last Friday.
When IU Director of Athletics Fred Glass opened the formal program and asked the packed house for a moment in memoriam for Mallory, total silence ensued.
Allen then came to the podium and earned his second standing ovation in as many years at Huber's, with a speech Don Fischer described as "kind of Malloryesque."
It was, indeed, in both content and tone.
Even before addressing the crowd, Allen had told the assembled media how much of an inspiration Mallory will remain, even amid the sorrow of his passing.
"Heavy heart, for Coach Mallory and his family," Allen said. "Special thoughts with (Mallory's wife) Ellie, who has to deal with everything that's going on – and to have his birthday today, that sometimes makes it more difficult.
"So much love and respect for him, and everything he means to our program. When you go back and study everything that he did, and what he inherited when he got here, the way he turned it around is really unbelievable. And the way he handled things at the end (of his career) was unusual, compared to the way a lot of people handle things like that."
The Mallorys stayed in Bloomington after IU truncated his 13-season tenure in 1996, still contributing to both the broader community and to Hoosier athletics – including the new head football coach in 2017.
"He was great from the very beginning," Allen said. "He was really the first one I sat down with. We went and had lunch together and he just kind of went through everything (about coaching football at Indiana). The culture of Indiana. Things he felt that were important, and things we were able to establish and do with respect to recruiting, dealing with media, the coaching staff, the conference …
"He came to practice every single week. He would text me. As a matter of fact, I just got a text from him not long ago after an article in the paper that was very positive about the direction we're going. He said, 'You guys are doing everything the right way. We believe in you. Just keep doing what you're doing.' That's just kind of how he was. He cared about this program. He loved it."
And there was a lot of Hoosier love to go around Wednesday night.
ALL-STARS. PLURAL.
Joining the 6-foot-6 Langford on the 2018 Indiana All-Star boys' squad, which plays Kentucky in the annual series next weekend, are fellow IU recruits Robert Phinisee of McCutcheon, a 6-1 point guard, and 6-6 winger Damezi Anderson of South Bend Riley.
"His 'inside-out strategy is really working," Glass said of Miller's desire to make in-state recruiting foundational for Indiana basketball, augmented by worthy prospects elsewhere. "It's sort of amazing to me that we'll have three kids on the Indiana All-Star team who are Indiana University recruits when that's just the second time we've had that many in 29 years.
"It feels like just yesterday that we were getting all the Indiana kids, but it's been longer than yesterday. Archie is really turning that around. We're very, very excited about Romeo, but also excited about the balance of that class – and the groundwork Archie is laying for future classes."
Miller's 2018 recruiting class also features 6-7 forward/winger Jerome Hunter from Pickerington, Ohio, and 6-9 power forward Jake Forrester from Harrisburg, Pa. Evan Fitzner, a 6-10 frontliner who is a graduate transfer from St. Mary's (Calif.), is arriving in Bloomington this summer, too.
The class, even excluding Fitzner from the rankings as a transfer, is rated No. 1 in the Big Ten and No. 7 nationally by Rivals.com.
"People are excited from Lake Michigan down to the Ohio River," Glass said about the feedback IU has gotten about the class. "All across the state, there is a real buzz and enthusiasm.
"I was already thrilled with this class, with the people Archie was able to attract, then Romeo Langford was the cherry atop the sundae. What a great young man. Great student, great character … a transcendent basketball player … and in a lot of ways a quintessential Hoosier. Stayed at New Albany when he could have gone to prep school – and maybe had some pressure to go to prep school. Stayed here. Committed to Indiana.
"So excited about him, and the balance of the class is pretty spectacular as well. I think there is a ton of momentum (in recruiting). That's what I was hoping for. And maybe the results have come a little more quickly than even I was hoping for."
Glass and Miller both hope Langford's decision is a harbinger regarding other prized Indiana prospects in future.
"He's as decorated a player as the state has seen and as decorated a kid as I've seen," Miller said. "It's what needed to happen (for us to recruit him). And his cool, calm personality is a perfect fit to walk into the fire.
"... Coming to Indiana, hopefully he'll make that the cool thing to do here down the line."
JUWAN-TING TO COME BACK
Miller's roster got another boost this week in the form of addition by lack of subtraction.
Juwan Morgan, IU's frontline force all last season, announced his withdrawal from NBA Draft consideration Tuesday. He'll play his final season of eligibility with the Hoosiers.
Miller admired the way Morgan and his family went through the process of testing the NBA waters, gleaning guidance and feedback while retaining the opportunity to play one more season with Indiana.
"As a coaching staff you have to take a step back, open lines of communication," Miller said. "It's really important in these situations that the accurate information is shared,
"In Juwan's case, he did a great job. He and his family have been a real joy to be around and work with. Juwan had a number of workouts with teams. He got to be able to be in those settings, which is what we wanted. He got the feedback. And as he and his family talked to us and talked to themselves, the opportunity to come back to Indiana as a senior, the opportunity to impact the program, was the overwhelming theme."
Morgan's performance was pretty overwhelming much of last season – such as his 34-point, 11-board showing in IU's overtime win over Notre Dame during last December's Crossroads Classic.
That was one of eight double-doubles on the campaign for Morgan, who averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds, overall. He got better as he went along, upping those numbers to 17.9 and 7.6 in league play. He shot .579 from the field for the season and improved his 3-point shooting to .378 in Big Ten action.
"Juwan had a terrific year," Miller said. "He earned it. Full credit to him for his buy-in and work-ethic. He turned into a very confident player."
NOT QUITE YET DE'RON-RUN-RUNNING
Miller said junior center De'Ron Davis' recovery from an Achilles tendon rupture in January has been steady but slow, as befits a man 6-10 and 250 pounds.
"It's a difficult surgery for anyone to come back from," Miller said, "and when a guy like De'Ron, with that size or a guy that can put on some weight when he's not able to do anything, that makes it a little more difficult.
"We've taken him really slow. He's done a really nice job here in the last three to four week. He's been in summer school by himself and he's exclusively been working on his rehab. It's going to be a slow process where he has to get himself into a situation where he feels comfortable running and then start the conditioning."
But while Davis is months away from full-go, Miller is encouraged by recent progress, as reported by veteran IU trainer Tim Garl, "In talking to Tim Garl here in this last week," Miller said, "I think De'Ron has strung together some really good days and I think he's progressing."
GRADING OUT WELL
Glass noted that this past academic year, IU athletics set an all-time program record with 256 Academic All-Big Ten selections. The average grade-point-average for the athletic department was 3.15. And last year, the athletic department had 68 Distinguished Scholars, another program record. The Graduation Success Rate for athletes at IU this past year was 90.6 percent. That's up from 70 percent when Glass arrived in 2011.
CHAMPIONSHIP CADDY
Dominic Papalia's 1976 Cadillac Eldorado, parked outside Huber's, was a rather stunning attraction Wednesday.
It is fully restored and festooned, from front to back bumper, with vintage photographs and artwork glorifying IU hoops. And its 1976 vintage is no accident, honoring the last unbeaten national champion in NCAA basketball annals.
Its floorboard is floor – a wooden replica of the Assembly Hall court that includes actual planking from the original court.
The driver's seat is covered by a plaid sport coat, or the sort worn by Bob Knight during his early IU coaching days. The other seats are adorned by IU warmups.
"If you haven't seen that '76 Eldorado tricked-out," an appreciative Glass admonished the audience, "that's a must-see."
HOOSIER HEARTLAND
When Miller made his first appearance at Huber's last year, he mentioned he couldn't address any specifics regarding recruiting other than noting he "knew where New Albany, Indiana, is."
That was a not completely covert allusion to Langford, of course.
But Miller made it clear Wednesday that, in the interim, he's enjoyed getting to know a lot of locales throughout the southern part of the state.
"I spent a lot of time down here the past year," Miller quipped, drawing a knowing chuckle from a crowd very much aware of the recruiting emphasis on Langford. "Not only recruiting, but traveling around, driving around and finding local people to help our cause. This is what it's all about, in terms of the passion for IU.
"Last year I walked into what felt like a hornet's nest in here. I really wasn't ready for it, to be honest. I am this year, though. This pocket of the state is one which I've really come to love."
That sort of passion from the fan base, generally, has Miller more convinced than ever he is coaching at a college basketball blueblood (even if its fans have a basic aversion to blue.)
"Sometimes you take a step back and you sort of want to pinch yourself and say, 'I can't believe I'm standing here right now,' " Miller said. "I said that quite a few times last year.
"The energy and the crowds that we were a part of, it gave me great confidence that when we are up and running and things are going as smooth as they possibly can, that (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall) should be one of, if not the most, difficult places to play a college basketball game (against the home team)."
IU opponents might have had a tough time making much headway with the crowd Wednesday night at Huber's, too.
This fan base is pumped up.
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